ISO tasty soups somewhere between the Tribeca/Chinatown/LES and 34th Street

[phoenikia]

I realize this covers a large area, and many neighbourhoods, but I'd like a list for future reference. Any price point, eat-in/take-out & any type of cuisine is fine with me.

This is what I've got so far:
laksa at Laut

borscht or mushroom barley at B & H http://www.menupages.com/restaurants/b-h-vegetarian-restaurant/menu
borscht at Yonah Shimmel's - is it worth it? I realize Shimmel's is a knishery that has been panned
frequently on this Board, but I read a rec for their borscht on another board, so I thought I'd keep it on the list.
borscht or mushroom barley at Little Poland
borscht at the Stage Restaurant
borscht at Ukrainian East Village Restaurant
borscht at Streecha on the weekend
cabbage borscht with flanken at Olive Tree

lentil soup at Think Coffee
lentil soup at City Bakery
lentil soup at Bereket
take-out lentil soup at Kalustyan's

khao soi gai at Regional Thai Taste

French Onion at Artisanal

Matzo Ball soup at 2nd Ave Deli

Hot & Sour at Congee Village

one of the various Hot & Sours offered at Xe Lua

various soups at Shopsin's General Store- should I bother? Read an earlier soup-focused thread recommending the chicken tortilla avocado soup and the Peruvian shrimp corn chowder. Realize CHs seem to either love or hate Shopsin's General Store.

soup at Cafe Medina- Turkish wedding soup, tortilla soup & African chicken peanut, which might be daily specials, so selection would vary depending on the day

how is the parihuela at Mancora lately? Mancora hasn't been mentioned on the Board in a long time.

Which would you take off the list? Which soups would you add?

Thanks for any of your input!

http://nymag.com/restaurants/features...

-----
Kalustyan's
123 Lexington Ave, New York, NY 10016

Bereket
187 E Houston St, New York, NY 10002

Shopsin's General Store
120 Essex St, New York, NY 10002

Artisanal
2 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10016

City Bakery
3 W 18th St, New York, NY 10011

Little Poland
200 2nd Ave, New York, NY 10003

Congee Village
100 Allen St, New York, NY 10002

Xe Lua
86 Mulberry St, New York, NY 10013

Second Avenue Deli
162 E 33rd St, New York, NY 10016

Stage Restaurant
128 2nd Ave, New York, NY 10003

Mancora
99 1st Ave, New York, NY 10003

Think Coffee
248 Mercer St, New York, NY 10012

Olive Tree Cafe
117 MacDougal St, New York, NY 10012

Cafe Medina
9 E 17th St, New York, NY 10003

Ukrainian East Village Restaurant
140 2nd Ave, New York, NY 10003

Regional Thai Taste
208 7th Ave, New York, NY 10011

Streecha Ukrainian Kitchen
24 E 7th St, New York, NY 10003

Laut
15 E 17th St, New York, NY 10003

[kathryn]

You can also get khao soi at Galanga on West 4th, Rhong Tiam Express on 21st and Broadway, and Talent Thai Kitchen on 34th and 3rd.

At 2nd Avenue Deli, if you want chicken meat in your soup, get the Chicken in a Pot. I might also add the Souper Soup from Sarge's to your list.

The few soups I've tried at Shopsin's have been delicious but I always end up eating the other food there.

Luke's Lobster also has chowder.

-----
Galanga
149 W 4th St, New York, NY 10012

Talent Thai
210 E 34th St, New York, NY 10016

Luke's Lobster
93 E 7th St, New York, NY 10009

[phoenikia]

Thanks for all of your suggestions, kathryn.

I would like chicken meat included in my soup, so thanks for the Chicken in a Pot tip for 2nd Ave Deli.

Haven't tried any soups at Sarge's, will have to try that Souper Soup. Almost tried their borscht last time I was there.

[Pan]

If you haven't tried any of the noodle soups at Great NY Noodletown, Noodle Village, Bo Ky, or Chiu Chow, do. Everyone has their favorites. At Noodletown, I recommend avoiding shrimp dumplings or wontons because they use overly old shrimp. Almost anything else is good, and I have a particular preference for soup with beef muscle, beef stew, or roast duck. At Bo Ky, I happen to particularly like soups with balls (fishballs, beef balls, etc.) or/and fishcakes. I haven't been to Noodle Village enough times to know what they do best, but I liked their wontons a lot. My favorite soup at Chiu Chow is the Curry Chicken Rice Stick Soup. Noodletown also has excellent, rather thick congee with lots of stuff in it.

Another place to check out is Soba Koh. Their soba soups are great! There's one with duck that's really special.

You should also take a trip to Lau's favorite fusion Asian place, the rather new Hung Ry on Bond St. I've been there only once so far, but my girlfriend described their wonderfully soothing Black Chicken Soup as "Chicken with essence of chicken."

For French onion soup, try Pastis.

The Rasam at Saravanaas is tasty, though pretty salty.

I'll try to think of more for you.

-----
Saravanaas
81 Lexington Ave, New York, NY 10016

Noodle Village
13 Mott St, New York, NY 10013

Hung Ry
55 Bond St, New York, NY 10012

[Pan]

I just realized, your limits are probably not inclusive. But even so, everything after my 1st paragraph is north of your southernmost limits.

[Humbucker]

What is the beef muscle at NY Noodletown?

[Pan]

It's actually cartilage.

[phoenikia]

Hi Pan,
I should have worded my post differently. My limits are inclusive. I'd like to include Chinatown, LES & Tribeca, as well as 34th St, or even a little further N of 34th. I set limits because I didn't want to end up with Battery Park City or Midtown recs, since I'm unlikely to end up eating in those areas while I'm in Manhattan If a certain soup is outstanding, I certainly don't mind going outside the parameters I set.

Thanks for all your suggestions.

I haven't tried any of the noodle soups you've mentioned. The soba with duck at Soba Koh sounds like something I'd love to try.

Have added Hung Ry to my wishlist.

I like the breakfasts at Saravanaas, but I haven't tried the Rasam.

-----
Saravanaas
81 Lexington Ave, New York, NY 10016

Hung Ry
55 Bond St, New York, NY 10012

[Pan]

The rasam there is very spicy and somewhat salty, so it isn't for everyone.

You might want to check out the hand-pulled noodle or/and "dough flake" soups at Arirang in Koreatown. I've liked the Kimchi Seafood Sujeabe, except that one of the bivalves in there is pretty fishy (apparently by design, but it's still somewhat off-putting).

-----
Arirang
32 W 32nd St, New York, NY 10001

[phoenikia]

Thanks Pan- I haven't tried any Korean hand-pulled noodle or dough flake soups, and I've never known where to start when it comes to eating in Koreatown. I haven't yet acquired a love of Kimchi, but some of the other noodle & dough flake soups on their menu look interesting to me.

[AdamD]

Tom yum and Tom Kha at Jaiya on 28th and 3rd. Service spotty, prices high, food good.

-----
Jaiya
396 3rd Ave, New York, NY 10016

[phoenikia]

Thanks AdamD!

[AdamD]

Happy souping. Word of caution, order mild if you dont like spicy. This place serves the hottest food I have ever had!

[phoenikia]

Thanks for the warning! I like spicy ;-)

[Pan]

Another idea for you:

Legend, the Sichuan-style restaurant on 7th Av. between 15th and 16th, has some soupy dishes. My brother and I loved this one:

"Chengdu" Braised Duck

The broth was surprisingly unfatty, and pretty strongly flavored with Sichuan pepper.

[phoenikia]

Thanks Pan!

[diprey11]

The Sichuan-style duck can be surprisingly lean, especially if compared to a fatter Cantonese rendition, but this is how it should be.
This works very well as long as the recipe doesn't require the juice to drip down and enrich the bottom layer (as in soups or dishes on top of rice/noodle). Still a yummy appetizer, often smoked on tea leaves for an extra kick.

[phoenikia]

good to know. thanks diprey11!

[selenster]

soondooboo chigae (spicy tofu and usually seafood stew) at BCD tofu house in koreatown! (32nd street between 5th and broadway)

[phoenikia]

thanks, selenster!

neat menu: http://www.bcdtofu.com/menu_eng.php

-----
BCD Tofu House
17 W 32nd St, New York, NY 10001

Legend
88 7th Ave, New York, NY 10011

[foodwhisperer]

Any soup at Columbine in Tribeca is awesome and they serve their soups with Sullivan St. bread,
pea soup at Katz's is good, Curry Ramen at what was called Ramen Setagaya ( has new name) located on University Pl, Barely Mushroom soup at Veselka is good,Minestrone soup at Cinque

-----
Veselka
144 2nd Ave, New York, NY 10003